Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins' rookie Rutger McGroarty gets his first NHL goal!

Starting point is 00:00:00 Today on Locked-on Penguins, the future is now. Hunter and I are going to recap the Penguins 5 to 4 loss to the St. Louis Blues in overtime. Then we will get you set for a weekend back-to-back against one of the best teams in the National Hockey League and one of the worst. All that and more right after this. Your Locked-on Penguins. Your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network. your team every day.

Starting point is 00:00:36 Hello and welcome back to another edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Patrick Damp. You can follow me across all social media platforms at Sendingham for Wet. Join today from the airport, a travel cast for my co-host Hunter Hodes. You can follow him on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. You can give our show's Twitter account a follow at L0 underscore Penguins. And of course, you know it. We appreciate you making us part of your daily routine.

Starting point is 00:01:07 Don't forget that we are free and available wherever you get your podcasts as well as YouTube and the Roku channel. Plus, if you're following us on YouTube, do us a solid. Hit that notification button. That way you can be among the first to know when we drop our daily Monday through Friday episodes. Before we jump into last night's game, today's episode is brought to you by Fandul. Right now, new Fandual customers can get $200 in bonus bets if their first $5 bet wins. So, Hunter, this is how I want to do this today because I know you are up against it. You're going to be here for the first segment.

Starting point is 00:01:46 Then you got to get on a plane and get yourself back to Pittsburgh. So really quick, before we get into the fun part, because it's a Friday episode, let's start with the negative. And then we will talk about the positive. because I know that's what everybody's signing up for. They want to hear about the big news out of last night. But let's start here. I'm going to start at the end. I'm going to Quentin Tarantino this.

Starting point is 00:02:14 I'm going to start at the end, and then we'll go back to the beginning and tell the rest of the story. Penguins lose 5 to 4 in overtime to the St. Louis Blues on a questionable penalty call on Chris Latang in overtime. And I'm of two minds for this. One, absolutely a questionable call, a little bit ticky tack, probably shouldn't have been called, but this has been a problem for the past few weeks with Chris La Tang. His game has been pretty bad. And the crux of it, and I noticed this a bunch last night, is that his skating is just not what it once was. He was getting beat wide quite a few. few times. And if there's one thing about Chris LaTang that never used to happen was getting beaten

Starting point is 00:03:07 to the side. And last night, even when he did, not last night for his career, if he got beaten wide, he was able to make up for it in two to three strides. Now that's just not happening. And that's what that penalty was born from. He got beaten wide and had to kind of reach in and go after the player that beat him. And while it was a tick-tac-y call, usually Chris LaTang was able to make up with that with his speed. And last night, that didn't happen. Yeah, man, his legs are completely gone. Yes, Pat, this is the first time we're doing an airport cast. I feel like I'm like Elliot Fleman right now, the 32 thoughts podcast, walking around through the airport. No one has tried to go in the background, thankfully, but that call last night was pathetic. I'm sorry,

Starting point is 00:03:53 that was not a good call. I see that slash go uncalled 20 times a game. That's BES. Hopefully the intercom, by the way, is not that loud. While editing and stuff, I apologize, they're probably getting some people do their gates in the airport. But I see that type of Sashko uncalled 20 times a game. But that's when you decided to call it in overtime. I know Latang did not have a good game. You cannot call that in that situation. You've got to let the players play in that one.

Starting point is 00:04:19 But you said it about Latang, man. His legs are completely cooked now. He saw him try to deflect the puck out of mid-air pat on another one of the goals earlier in the game where it's like, what are you thinking there? I just, the decision making right now is really bad. He still has three more years left on that contract. I love the guy to death, but it's been really sad seeing his game go this downhill this quickly this season. For someone that has done so much for this organization since coming up to the penguins, it's just really unfortunate. But, you know, we've discussed this a lot, Pat, father time is undefeated and you're

Starting point is 00:04:52 seeing it really play out right now. But the big news, of course, Rocker McGrady and Ville Coivin and they were both outstanding once again last night. Rucker Morghumority, I love the little play that he made along the boards to get that puck to Brian Rust, won those, won that board battle, gets it to Rust. And then he does his move that sent the blues goaltender to the shadow realm. Absolutely no chance for Hofer on that play. And then the goal that he scored, man, he's been doing that all season, Wilkesbury, getowing to the front of the net, getting those We see goals. There's a video on Twitter showing his mom literally crying after. Just an amazing moment and to cap off a great night from the glory. He continues to do like a completely different

Starting point is 00:05:31 player than what we saw at the beginning of the season. I thought his decision making was really strong. I thought his skating continued to look really good. And he got rewarded. And I also love Mike Sullivan putting them out there on the six on five. You want these two kids to learn how to play in high leverage situations. You want them to learn how to play in high stakes games. This is how you do it. And I love that he's doing that. Great job I saw him on that. Yeah, I, I, I, you, you, you pulled the eight mile B rabbit final battle thing on me.

Starting point is 00:06:02 I think you knew where I was going to go with that, where I was going to come out and say, real tough night for the Mike Sullivan hates young players crowd, because not only did he put them out on the six on five at the end of the game and was rewarded for the decision as Covenin gets the puck to McGroity and, Grosity makes no mistake and scores. So McGority gets his first NHL goal, his first multi-point game. Covenin gets his first NHL point. So big night for both of them. But it wasn't just the six on five. He was using them in all situations, five on five, power play, penalty kill.

Starting point is 00:06:40 It was a night where these guys were given a big role. And for the second straight game, they lived up to the billing. Now, I'm not going to pop the champagne and say the future is here and get out of the way, old men, but this is a good start. And I want to see what happens through training camp and into next year because we still very much are in the adrenaline part of their NHL journey. Obviously, McGority had some experience early in the year. He wasn't used as heavily because it was more of a necessity due to injury. offense to McGrory, I think he's going to blossom into one very good NHL player. But now this is still a momentum area for them. They are basking in the glow of being in the show.

Starting point is 00:07:32 They're excited to be here. They're really playing with emotion and raw adrenaline because they got to prove themselves. What I want to see is throughout the rest of this run, because it feels like they're going to be here for the rest of the season, how they do over the next couple of weeks. And then what happens in training camp in early next year? Because yes, this team is not going to the Stanley Cup playoffs, but they're technically not eliminated. So while the games really don't matter, they want to show that they can make a difference. So they have that kind of heightened emotional state. And that's what it's called for right now. But when you get to game one of 82 and you're starting a season, how are they going to play?

Starting point is 00:08:19 That's not me pumping the brakes and saying don't be excited. Absolutely be excited. They play great. But let's not start to act like, oh, they are fully formed products. There's going to be dips. There's going to be slumps. There's going to be bad games. But for now, the returns are very good, very early.

Starting point is 00:08:40 Yeah, that's the thing, right? McGority, I felt like it was the best player on the ice fast night. It wasn't even close to me. I thought he was great in all three loans. I want to see what Koi, it looks like if Malkin can come back at some point this season. I know he's on the road trip right now. They have Dallas coming up.

Starting point is 00:08:54 They have Chicago coming up this weekend on the back-to-back. So my hope is that we can get Malkin and Kovina together just so I can see how they are. I think that would be a really nice match for them. But hey, this is a really good start for two games. And I want Sully to keep deploying them in these high-state situations. Keep putting them out there against some of these top players around the league. Dallas is a very big test, especially with now they have Ransonin and they're playing really good hockey right now, throw them to the wolves against them and throw them to the walls against all

Starting point is 00:09:22 these teams down the stretch. Like iron sharpens iron man. Like that's the thing I come back to when I think about this. So I'm really happy with how they're playing. I liked Connor Dewar's game last night as well. That goal that he scored. He's a feisty little fella. Like he's played really well since coming over from Toronto. I like seeing him get rewarded there. Cindy Cosby got a point. We love that. McCart McHell gets his 33rd goal. One more from tying his career high of 34 goals. I know they didn't win last night, but with how many positives to come out of this game, Pat, it feels like they kind of did win, honestly, with how great the kids were. Cindy Crosby, Rickel.

Starting point is 00:10:00 Hell, even a loss helps their draft position. So in a lot of ways, this team won last night. Yeah, I would agree. And I say it on the show all the time, obviously, no real moral victories in professional sports, because at the end of the day, professional sports is all about winning. but given where this team is where it wants to go, that's about as good as it could have gone last night. You get great games from your young players,

Starting point is 00:10:28 your big time contributors, unfortunately outside of Chris Latang, played pretty well. And the last note I'll make, and I don't want to end it on a sour note, but it's just we would be remiss if we didn't mention it. I can't really get mad at Tristan Jari for any goals last night. I think a lot of it more.

Starting point is 00:10:46 And I wrote this down in my notes. it was defense breaking down. I think for the most part, the penguins were actually pretty good defensively, but a lot of the blues goals, I think you can kind of directly attribute to the defensemen on the penguins, either made some poor decisions, got beaten,

Starting point is 00:11:07 or just didn't do the fundamental things to keep a goal from happening. So yeah, maybe you can say one or two of them, a save would be nice, but at the end of the day, It wasn't the Tristan Jari that we've seen most of the season where you look at one or two of his goals and go, well, everybody did everything right.

Starting point is 00:11:26 What the hell were you doing? He was peppered a lot in the second period. I mean, the blues, you could kind of tell in the first period, Pat, they weren't taking the penguins seriously, which is kind of weird. Here comes to intercom again. But it's kind of weird to me because the penguins beat them pretty handily a couple weeks ago before they started this long winning streak.

Starting point is 00:11:42 So you think they would take them seriously. Penguins were going out there and busting them in the first period. The second period, the blues are like, okay, now we got to wake up here. They did. The penguins had some bad defensive breakdowns. I thought Jari kept them in it a little bit in the third period. Had no chance on the game when you're going overtime. I still can't believe they made that call, by the way, absolutely ridiculous.

Starting point is 00:12:02 And there's one thing I did want to end this on was that the penguins played their asses off last night. They really did. They showed that fight, especially in the third period. They were down four two. They easily could have been like, you know what? Let's just, you know, throw in the towel here, half a period. to go. Who cares? Nope. 4-3 on the power play. Boom, Ruffalo Gertr-Morgulity gets the game time goal right in front of the net, latent regulation. I love the continued fight from this

Starting point is 00:12:27 team, even though we know they're not making the playoffs. Absolutely. We've been saying it all year. It's fine if they lose. It's fine if you get beaten by a better team, but show the fight. And they fought all night long, really kept themselves in it. And we love to see that, not just because it's a good entertaining product to watch, but because it's a good sign for the years to come. But that is going to do it for the first segment, Hunter. Appreciate it because I know you got to go catch a flight. So thank you for finding the time in the airport.

Starting point is 00:13:00 He will be back on Monday when we recap this weekend's games. I will be back for the final two segments of this episode to get you set for the Dallas stars on Saturday and then the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. Okay, we'll be back to preview this weekend's games, but first we've got to tell you about today's first sponsor, and that is five-hour energy. Daylight savings snuck up on us once again,

Starting point is 00:13:29 and if you're feeling that lost hour of sleep, five-hour energy has your back. That extra sunshine means more time for fun, but sometimes you just need a little energy boost to power through. Whether you're staying up late watching the NCAA tournament, squeezing in a round of golf after work or just trying to keep up with your busy day. Five hour energy gives you that quick, refreshing, pick me up whenever you need it. I have been all over the map with my work schedule as well as trying to keep myself in shape,

Starting point is 00:13:59 watch the penguins, spend time with my girlfriend and family. And when I need that boost, man, five hour energy, it's right there for me. Absolutely love it. So if you want to get your hand on some five hour energy, head to five hour energy. head to five hour energy.com to find over 15 flavors to choose from, including watermelon, blue raspberry, and peach mango. You can even build your own 12-pack or 24-pack and have it delivered right to your door. Need one now.

Starting point is 00:14:25 You can grab a five-hour energy shot at your local grocery or convenience store. You know it. I know it. They are everywhere. So stock up today and stay energized. All right, welcome back. It's the Friday edition of Locked on Penguins. Shout out to Hunter Hodes for taking the time.

Starting point is 00:14:45 We all know how busy the airport can be. It is an absolute pain at times. So appreciate him being so dedicated to our community to step in and do a little bit of a recap of the Blues game. From the airport, we will have him back normally like we always do on Monday. He'll be back in his office in Pittsburgh. But enough about that. Let's talk about this weekend's back to backs, which begin on Saturday in Dallas when they take on one of the best teams in the national hockey league, the Dallas

Starting point is 00:15:17 stars. That game will be a nationally televised game on ABC at 3 o'clock in Dallas. And I don't think I need to remind everybody how bad the first matchup went against the Dallas stars earlier this season in November. The penguins were absolutely smoked by the stars. It was a near no show for the penguins. funny enough when that game was happening, I was actually in an airport like Hunter was today, and it was the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.

Starting point is 00:15:50 So I got to watch the Penguins first period no-show while sitting at a gate myself. So talk about some full circle moments there. But this is without a doubt one of the best teams in the National Hockey League. They are going from taking on the hottest team in the National Hockey League in the St. Louis Blues to one of the best teams in the NHL and the Dallas stars. Don't have as big of a winning streak as St. Louis did going into last night's game, but they are currently on a seven game winning streak themselves. So they have been extremely hot down the stretch.

Starting point is 00:16:28 And they are part of the Miko Ranton saga. He goes from Colorado to Carolina, then Carolina to Dallas. And he has been a seamless, fit in Dallas. He has played 13 games for them, recording 13 points already. So that is just another weapon in Dallas's arsenal. And this is like I keep saying, one of the best teams. And for the Penguins, this is going to have to be another one of those games this season that Hunter and I have discussed quite a lot.

Starting point is 00:17:06 it is a game where they can't afford to take a lot of risks. They are going to have to play a very disciplined game because you look up and down Dallas's roster. Right now they have, if my math is correct, which you guys know, my math is skeptical and maybe not that great at best to pretty bad at worst. But they have right now eight forwards with, 40 points or more on the season. So they get scoring up and down their lineup. This is a team that has

Starting point is 00:17:45 not just a very good attack, but a very balanced attack. It's a team that whether it's their first line, their fourth line, you name it, they are going to be able to put the puck in the net. They are going to have you under siege for 60 minutes. So for the penguins, this has to be, frankly just a disciplined, hardworking game. And I think we have seen that from the penguins over the past month or so. There have been obviously some duds in there. We know what happened against Buffalo. We know what happened against Tampa Bay.

Starting point is 00:18:23 They no-showed, got embarrassed. But outside of that, Hunter said it at the end of the first segment. I agree with him. This is a team that fights. This is a team that knows that they're probably not going. going anywhere, probably is putting it lightly. We know they're not going to the Stanley Cup playoffs, but this is a team that despite all of that,

Starting point is 00:18:45 we have said it before. The Sydney Crosby record has been achieved. He has already made his history. The young guys are here. They're giving this team a little bit of a jolt. They're giving this team a little bit of a spark, which they so desperately need. And now they can play spoiler.

Starting point is 00:19:04 You look at where Dallas is in the standings. They are chasing the Winnipeg jets for the top of the Central Division, and they're all of four points back as I record this on Friday morning. So they're in a battle to get home ice advantage at the very least through the first two rounds, and the penguins can play spoiler here. This is going to be a big two points for the Dallas stars on Saturday afternoon, and the penguins can play that role of spoiler. And I think it's going to start again with these young guys.

Starting point is 00:19:38 You have seen it from both Rutger McGority and Ville Coivinen. They have not looked out of place since they came to the team on Sunday against Ottawa. And obviously we saw it last night against St. Louis. They both have played very well. They have fit into top six roles. They have now we know they can produce. and you look at a lot of their decision making, it has been up to par for the NHL. So this is big for them.

Starting point is 00:20:10 And this is a chance now where if I'm Mike Sullivan, keep throwing them into the fire. We don't need to shelter them because you're playing a great team. You don't need to protect them from certain matchups. Just keep deploying them the way you've been deploying them. And see what happens because we are playing for the future now. But end of the day, this is going to be a tough game. And to put into perspective how good the Dallas stars are right now. They are dealing with some injuries.

Starting point is 00:20:43 They are without Tyler Sagan, who had hip surgery late in 2024. He at the time was slated to be out four to six months. They likely will not get him back unless they go on a very deep playoff run, which if I were a betting man, I would say they're probably going to go on a pretty deep run and away from that you also are without one of the best defensemen around in Miro Heiskenen. He is also out and they've kind of been noncommittal on how long he's going to be out. They hope to get him back for the playoffs, but we will not see him on Saturday.

Starting point is 00:21:22 He is dealing with a knee injury and had to get knee surgery. So again, that's another player, huge contributor that they're without. but they continue to chug right along. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention something that you got to talk about when you talk about the Dallas stars. And that is Jason Robertson. This is a player that as me and my college buddies would always say when we noticed a very good young, talented player, this kid is the absolute truth. 33 goals, 77 points.

Starting point is 00:21:56 He is going to be a force. for a long time. They found a great player in this kid. He is one of the best players, not only on their team, but in the league. So you got to find a way to limit him. You have to limit your mistakes against the Dallas Stars. If you give them even a little bit of an opportunity, they are going to make you pay. So this is a huge test for the Penguins. I liked their game quite a bit against St. Louis before McGority got his first and tied it late. I wrote in my notes. It was another case of the Penguins playing fairly well.

Starting point is 00:22:33 They were just playing a better team. This is going to be another one of those games where I just want to see good effort. I want to see them working hard. I want to see them pushing back. And who knows? We know how the NHL goes. 82 game season, the best teams usually come out at the end of it. But throughout those 82 games, anybody can beat anybody.

Starting point is 00:22:56 This is going to be a massive test. for the penguins on Saturday afternoon. But that is going to do it for the second segment. When we come back, the penguins will go from playing one of the best teams in the National Hockey League to playing one of the worst in the Chicago Blackhawks. I'll get you set for that game when I come back right after this. So stick around. We'll talk about the Blackhawks and close out the show.

Starting point is 00:23:23 But first, we got to tell you about today's last sponsor. And that is Fandul. The NCAA tournament is here and Fandul is giving you the chance to get in on the action like never before. Right now, new customers can get $200 in bonus bets when their first $5 bet wins. That's $200 extra bucks to bet on everything from buzzer beaters to Cinderella stories and even who is cutting down the nets. Fandul, if your bracket's busted, they're giving you the opportunity to stay in on the action. you know that tournament games are happening basically every single day. So there's always something exciting to bet on.

Starting point is 00:24:01 So visit fandul.com to get on the college hoops action all tournament long. That's Fandul, America's number one sports book. Two, one. All right, welcome back to the Friday edition of Locked-on Penguins. I am Patrick Damp. Hunter is catching a flight. He was here for the first segment. So I am closing out the show.

Starting point is 00:24:22 and we just talked about the penguins playing the Dallas Stars on Saturday afternoon. And then after that game, they will travel to Chicago to play an early evening game against the Chicago Blackhawks at 6 o'clock. That'll be a Sportsnet Pittsburgh game. So you can catch that locally after they will be national on Saturday afternoon on ABC against the Dallas Stars. And what a polar opposite back to back the penguins have this coming. weekend. They go from taking on one of the best teams, not just in the Western Conference, but in the National Hockey League, to taking on one of the worst teams in the entire league in the Chicago Blackhawks. And the place to start is Connor Bedard. There are a lot of comparisons

Starting point is 00:25:10 right now with the Chicago Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks. You look at the sharks right now, they're not a very good team either. They're only all of two points. ahead or behind, excuse me, of the Blackhawks. And obviously, Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, and a whole cast of players on the San Jose Sharks have been a really exciting development for Sharks fans. That, to me, is the biggest difference between the two teams. Connor Bedard is not at all a bust. He's not a bad player.

Starting point is 00:25:46 He is going to be one of the best players for the foreseeable future in the National Hockey League. difference now is that the Chicago Blackhawks do not have anything to surround him with. He is a man on an island. You pull up daily face off and you look at who he is paired with on the top line. He is between Ryan Donato and Ilya McAyev. And then when you look at any sort of injuries that have happened for the Chicago Blackhawks, there really isn't anybody big missing. this isn't a case of Bedard's preferred linemate or one of his young players who goes right around with him is no longer in the lineup. Chicago is still at rock bottom for their rebuild.

Starting point is 00:26:35 They are still a team that is bottoming out. They are compiling the young talent. They are compiling the draft picks. So it's going to be a couple of seasons before we see the Chicago Blackhawks able to get back near the top of the league because they're simply just Connor Bedard and a mishmash of random players that they need to have on their roster because that's what's required of the NHL. So at this point for the penguins, you have to take advantage of a team that's having an even more miserable season than you are. And this is their first meeting. They will play them

Starting point is 00:27:14 twice in a row. They will play them obviously Sunday. And then they will play them again. And then they will play them again at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday next week. So this is a good chance for the penguins to pick up a few points. I know, I know we want the penguins to get a better draft position. We want them to pick higher in this year's, this summer's draft. But really at the end of the day, you want to have these young guys playing somewhat meaningful hockey.

Starting point is 00:27:44 And if you're able to really boost their confidence against the team like the Chicago, Blackhawks, this is the perfect time for them to do that. One of the bright spots, however, for the Chicago Blackhawks was they made a trade with the Florida Panthers to send Seth Jones into the Eastern Conference on the defending Stanley Cup champions. In return, they get goaltender Spencer Knight, and he has been pretty damn good for the Blackhawks through 10 games. He has posted several good starts, including against some very good teams, two,

Starting point is 00:28:19 quality starts against the avalanche, two quality starts against the Los Angeles Kings, a good start against Utah, and he has an 892 save percentage. On the surface, not all that impressive, not really that great of a save percentage, but when you put it into the context of it being the Chicago Blackhawks and a very bad team, he's doing quite well for a pretty bad team that is not playing very well in front of him. and he's only 23 years old. So this could very well be their goaltender of the future, which we have seen this with several rebuilding teams throughout the NHL.

Starting point is 00:29:01 They get the horses up front, they get the defenseman on the back end, and then they can't figure out goaltending. They're just trying to figure out who is going to be their guy. And early returns from Spencer Knight are very good. So this is a team that is still, like I said, at rock bottom of their rebuild. So if you're the penguins, you have to take advantage of that. You have to go in and you have to be ruthless.

Starting point is 00:29:29 You have to take it to this team. You have to give them a huge fight to make it so you can get a couple big points. So curious to see what happens in these two games because we saw it against Buffalo. Penguins played a pretty bad team. They no-showed. They got completely boat-raced by that team. We can't see a repeat of that against Chicago in these two upcoming games. I really want to see Rutger McGroherty, Billy Coivinen,

Starting point is 00:30:02 even Coyachanuk and Connor Timmons and Connor Dewar as well as Philip Thomasino. I want to see them given a little bit more runway to perform because if you're playing a team, of this magnitude that is this low in the standings. Put the saddle on some of your young guys. Take some of the pressure off of your Sydney Crosby's, Brian Rusts, Chris LaTang, Ricard, Raquel, those guys. Obviously, I want to see those young guys get some time with them, but I want to see these young guys play a prominent role against a pretty bad team. So two big games for the Pittsburgh Penguins this weekend. Dallas on Saturday, Chicago on Sunday.

Starting point is 00:30:44 Hunter will be back, thankfully, to break down both of those games, as well as get you ready for the week ahead when we come back on Monday. But for Hunter Hodes, who's hopefully having a very safe flight, I'm Patrick Damp. Thank you, as always for tuning in. We will be back with a brand new episode for you on Monday.

Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins' rookie Rutger McGroarty gets his first NHL goal!

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.